Shocking new photos of Patrick Swayze show the actor gaunt and frail, with friends fearing he is "close to the end" of his cancer battle.
The 56-year-old star has bravely fought pancreatic cancer since he was diagnosed with the deadly condition last year. He has continued to work on TV show The Beast despite his ill health, dividing his time between the Chicago set and the California hospital where he has undergone brutal treatment to attack the disease.
Swayze was struck down with pneumonia back in January, just days after discussing his cancer battle for the first time in a TV interview.
He overcame that setback -- but two months on, the actor's health has deteriorated further.
Photographs published in this week's National Enquirer show a bald and thin Swayze hooked up to a chemotherapy catheter as he attends a medical appointment before going shopping with his wife Lisa.
A friend tells the tabloid, "He knows the end is getting close and he's treating every day as precious. Still he feels a sense of satisfaction that his hard fight has shown the world what determination can do."
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